Deeks pulled the car up in front of Trent Stallard's house, keeping one hand curled tightly over the wheel as he killed the ignition. His partner had spent the entire ride with her head half out the window and even though the last thing he wanted to do was piss her off, he couldn't not point out the obvious. Deciding to proceed with caution he deliberately kept his tone light as he turned to face her, "you're not going to puke are you?"
Kensi clenched her jaw in frustration as she unclipped the seatbelt, "for the hundredth time Deeks, I'm fine." The lie disintegrated into a cough and she shot him a warning glare almost daring him to argue. Truth was her stomach had been rolling since they'd gotten in the car but she refused to let a bout of nausea affect the job she was assigned to and she sucked in a deep breath as she wound up the window.
Deeks pushed a sigh from his lips resisting the urge to reach out and check for a fever. Her cheeks were flushed from coughing and a light sweat had broken out on her forehead but she was too stubborn to admit anything was wrong and he shook his head trying to appeal to her rational side. "Seriously Kens..." he held her gaze being completely honest, "if you want me to take you home, I can handle this."
Her irritation ebbed at his genuine concern and for a split second she considered the offer but then quickly dismissed the idea. They were here now. All they had to do was go in and take a look around... no sense in him leaving only to come all the way back. "I'll be fine," she reached out giving his shoulder a light squeeze, "it's an in and out job, then you can take me home."
He watched her turn towards the door and without thinking he reached across to grab her arm, "Kens..."
She stilled beneath his touch he swallowed roughly forcing the words out, "before when I said... what I meant was... you know, even sick you still look sexy as hell." He defaulted to the easiest out and even though it wasn't quite what he wanted to say, a smirk touched his lips as her face flushed from the compliment. If she wasn't sick she would have punched him in the arm and he quickly drew away, unbuckling his own belt and opening the car door before her reaction set in.
Stepping up onto the curb his mind switched back to the job as he took in the surroundings. It was nice area, not too flashy but not too poor either. The house in front of them was white weather boarded and the garden, while it could do with some work, painted a nice picture of a family home. It made sense that Trent had been working another job... either that or Syverson were paying him off nicely.
Kensi reached his side and without thinking he automatically pressed his fingers lightly against her back guiding her up the path to the front door. Even though she wasn't at the top of her game she picked the lock in less than a minute and he pulled his gun out from its holster as he stepped across the threshold.
They moved in sync checking and clearing the rooms and it was only when they reached the bedroom that Deeks put his hand up signalling for them to stop. He was sure he's seen a shadow moving off to the right and he took soft steps towards the door pressing his back up against the wall as they moved closer.
After a few moments he was ready to dismiss the concern as a trick of the light when a large man sprung from the doorway swinging his fists wildly. The assailant got the upper hand kneeing him right between the legs and he only briefly registered the sound of his gun going off as he dropped to the ground.
"Deeks!" The sound resonated through the house and Kensi landed beside him trying to swallow her panic as Hank Grady took off down the corridor, "Deeks, you good?"
"Go-" he managed to compose himself, cupping the area between his leg as she took off. The shot had fired aimlessly into the wall but the pain from the kick was excruciating and it took him a few moments to recover before finally managing to collect himself enough to chaise after them. By the time he reached the back door they were already dead sprinting across the garden and he swore as the man barrelled through the unlocked back gate with Kensi hot on his tail.
"Damnit," he cursed, forcing his legs in the direction they were headed.
By the time he reached the narrow opening Grady had already started scaling the next set of fences and a knot lodged in his stomach as he watched Kensi double over just shy of the meter high obstacle. He pushed himself harder all thoughts of their suspect vanishing as he came to a stop by her side.
"Kens...?" She was struggling to breathe and his fingers grasped her shoulder, torn between making sure she was okay and attempting to follow Grady. In the end his concern won out. Their suspect was probably long gone already and right now he only had one priority on his mind.
"Kensi-" he curled his hand around her arm in support, "Kens, you're ok... just slow it down, deep breaths."
"I can't-" she hitched, trying to swallow the wave of panic constricting her throat. Every intake of air felt like it was burning her chest and despite his reassuring hold his voice was slipping further and further beyond her grasp. She tried blinking away the black haze but she was too exhausted to fight it and she stumbled barely feeling the pressure of his arm around her waist.
Deeks caught her, easily taking the weight and manoeuvring his hand up to her cheek to try and rouse her, "Kens, hey... come on princess rise and shine, up and adam-" fear crept into his voice as he tried to wake her, "seriously Kens, come on..."
She stirred and a wave of relief washed over him. Seeing her vulnerable wasn't something he was used to and even though she'd only been out for a few seconds he kept his hand against her waist too scared to let her go.
Kensi breathed in deeply, flattening her palms against his chest as she stole enough time to collect herself. She was fine.. maybe not up to running but the dizziness had started to subside and the only drawback was the sudden flush of embarrassment that heated her face. Desperate to ignore her partners concern she took a step back deliberately lifting her gaze to the fence. "Grady... you let him get away."
Guilt settled in his stomach as he watched the anger flash across her face. Even though he should have been annoyed by her response he knew it was a defence mechanism. Kensi Blye was by no means the damsel in distress type and seeing her vulnerable knocked his usual flippancy off kilter. "Forget Grady, you remember how you just passed out? How about we talk about that for a second?"
"I'm fine-" she coughed, sliding her hand across her rib cage and wincing at the unfortunate timing. It did nothing to help her case and she forced herself to remain unaffected by his sympathetic gaze. "Deeks don't give me that look, I over did it that's all."
He raised his head letting out a sigh. There was no way he could win the argument, she was either going to think he was undermining her or he was being over protective and even though he hated the term black mail he was left with no other choice. "Ok you know what, here's the deal... I take you home and you promise to actually rest, then I won't breath a word of this to anyone else."
"How about this-" she glared at him, stubbornness overriding her embarrassment, "you take me home so I can rest up... enough to kick your ass for letting a suspect get away... and maybe I won't mention it around Hetty."
The threat ended with another bout of coughing and he decided it wasn't in his best interests not to push the issue. She was almost conceding and it was probably the closest to a win he was going to get. "It's a deal."
She nodded and an unspoken resolution passed between them as he lead her back to the gate, his hand unintentionally falling to her back as he tried to ease the tension that had fallen between them, "you know you'll be thanking me when you're at home soaking in a nice hot bath... relaxing with bubbles, candles... all wet and omph-"
She elbowed him in the ribs, feeling some sort of normalcy start to return between them. She hated appearing weak and even though she trusted him with her life she was still growing used to the idea of leaning on him for support. Since they'd crossed a line together it was growing more and more difficult to tell what was acceptable. The only thing she knew for sure was that they were partners and that they would always have each others backs.
"We should do a few drive byes-" she opened the gate returning her focus to the job, "if Grady's on foot we might get lucky."
He nodded his agreement following her to the house. If they stood any chance of catching their suspect then their search of the Trent's property would have to wait. A semi-comfortable silence settled between them as they retraced their steps to car and when he moved round to open her door he was surprised when she didn't comment on the gesture. The reaction just reaffirmed his belief that she needed to be at home resting and when he climbed into the drivers side he didn't waste any time turning over the engine.
Kensi stifled another cough, glancing out the window as they took off and begun manoeuvring their way around the neighbourhood streets. As they both suspected Grady was long gone and after twenty minutes Deeks called it, turning around and heading back towards the direction of her place. She stayed silent trying to ignore the gentle sway of the car as it rounded another corner. The last thing she wanted to do was add to the embarrassment of the day and when her house finally came into view she breathed out a sigh of relief.
"That eager to abandon me?" He joked, killing the ignition as he turned to face her. The expected punch was a welcome relief and answered the question of whether or not she needed help getting to the door. Rubbing the spot gingerly he tired to gauge if he should offer anyway but decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was coddle her and he forced himself to let go of the idea as he watched her. "Call me later?"
"Yeah," she nodded, smothering another cough as she reached for the door handle. Her fingers clasped the cool metal and she was about to pull it open when his light grasp stopped the movement.
"Kens wait..." he paused, offering a tentative smile, "If you need anything, I'm here okay?"
The sentiment hung between them and without thinking his fingers lifted to brushed the side of her face. She was warm, definitely running a fever and his gaze softened as he ran his thumb down to settle beneath her chin. He was almost expecting her to pull away and when she didn't he swallowed roughly unable to stop himself from being completely honest, "I care about...I mean I-" he stumbled over the admission, trying to find the right words to make her understand, "I know you can look after yourself... but that doesn't mean you should, not all the time."
She nodded, curling her hand around his fingers and reluctantly guiding them from her face. They both cared... too much, and that was part of the problem. "I should go."
"Yeah." He reluctantly let her pull away, watching as she climbed out of the car. One day he was going to break through those barriers she'd worked so hard to build because he knew, whatever doubts she had, he was falling in love with her...
And he had no idea how he was supposed to stop.